Once I spoke at a high school．After the speech，the principal asked me to see a special student．An illness had kept the boy home，but he had expressed an __   in meeting me，and it would mean a great deal to him．I ___．

He was Matthew．When he was born，the doctor told his parents that he would not live to   five，then they were told he would not __ it to ten．Now he was thirteen．He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal weight lifter, and I __ about overcoming obstacles(障碍)and __ for my dreams．

I spent over an hour talking to Matthew．Never did he   ___ ．He spoke about winning and succeeding and seeking his dreams．___，he knew what he was talking about．He just talked about his ___for the future，and how one day he wanted to_____weight with me．

When we finished talking，I went to my briefcase and   ____out the first gold medal I won and put it around his ____．I told him he was more of a ____ and knew more about success and overcoming __ than I ever would．He looked at it for a while．then took it off __ handed it back to me．He said，“You are a __ ．You earned that medal.___ when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal，I will show it to you．”

Last summer I got the news that Matthew had passed___ and a letter Matthew had written me a few days before：

Dear Rick，

My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me．The doctors are __ to tell me that I don't have long to live any more．But I still __ as much as I can．

I told you that in the future I Was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal．But I know now I'll __．But I know I'm a champion，and god knows that too．When I get to Heaven，God will give me my medal and when you get there，I will show it to you．

Thank you for loving me．

Your friend，

Matthew

Two weeks of volunteer work lay ahead and my mood _______. I realized that good _______ and a trip to Spain would not be enough to make the _______ that I had hoped for. My volunteer service was in a shelter in Peru. I was where I wanted to be, but, without the communication _______ I needed.

One morning the founder of the shelter , Miguel Rodriguez , _______ the story of how, after the death of his baby, he started feeding and taking in _______ children. He eventually _______ his family, wealth, and life to setting up what is now a shelter for over 1,300 chil-dren. As he finished, I asked：''I can _______ how the walls, the food, and the facility came to be, but, how did you _______ the atmosphere of love, respect, and care among these children? ''

His response was simple：''Use the language of love. '' He ________ , ''The language of love is done with your eyes, your hands, and your smile. ''   ''________ are not only for work. They are for hugging, holding, and ________ . Do this, and they may well ________ the example. ''

This simple statement carried ________. These children had communicated love, respect, and ________ to me and each other without a word being ________. These emotions, so ________ to convey, did not need translation at all.

For the remainder of my service, I was determined to worry less about my ________ of Spanish, and instead, focus on using the language of love. When I returned home, I ________ myself to use it more in my everyday life and to be mindful that being a(n) ________ is sometimes all the power that is needed.

I was working in my upstairs study when the doorbell rang. I _______ ran downstairs. It must be a(n) _______, I thought. I didn’t even remember ordering anything, but I was still delighted by the possibility. It’s almost more _______ when you don’t remember; it’s like receiving a gift you never _______.

I quickly opened the door, afraid they might leave, only to be _______ by a Jew who came to collect tzedakah (the Jewish tradition of charity). I was _______ not just that the expected material item hadn’t arrived, but at the _______ of the petitioner (请求者). I even thought, if only I hadn’t been in such a _______; if only I hadn’t opened the door.

I made my contribution — politely but with little _______. The recipient, on the other hand, showered me with blessings. I felt ________. Why was he, the one in ________, able to keep such a(n) ________ attitude? And why was I, the more fortunate one, so depressed and bitter? It was time for a little self-examination.

Firstly, I wasn’t even ________ whether I had ordered anything. Secondly, even if I had, did I really think that material item, whatever it might have been, ________ the level of excitement I was feeling? I knew it was just a thing, something that would eventually be ________ or given away, that wouldn’t give me meaning or blessings. Thirdly, if I had so ________ myself from others’ needs that I was unable to understand their pain, that I saw them as disturbing rather than as an opportunity to ________, to uplift others?

Now I know I made a ________. I realize how unfriendly I was. But at least I still have a little ________. And I want to be better. So let the doorbell ring. I’ll ________ a heartfelt smile. I’ll greet all petitioners with love and generosity.